On Jan. 30, the West Side Leader (WSL) published, in the Letters to the Editor column, a letter Pat McRowe, president of Citizens for Bath Seniors, had written [“Bath resident says seniors deserve services”]. In response, Citizens for Bath Seniors received an email so full of inaccuracies that the board felt compelled to address them. We fear that other people may also share some of these misunderstandings. This letter addresses only a couple of the misconceptions.

The emailer wrote: “You go out of your way to rally your group to vote against the schools in Bath.” This is wrong in several ways!

First: Citizens for Bath Seniors was founded as, and has always been, a nonpartisan organization. It has never supported or opposed any levy or candidate, verbally or in writing.

Second: The reputation of Revere [Local] schools, promising their children a quality education, was one important reason many seniors chose to live in Bath. A majority of our members are college/university graduates. Our membership includes retired teachers, nurses, librarians and Ph.D chemists. We value education.

Third: Seniors are not stupid. They know that the value of their property depends substantially on the quality of the local school system. Supporting the excellent quality of the Revere schools helps maintain the value of one of their major assets.

The emailer also wrote: “Many people … would prefer tooth extraction rather then(sic) sitting around doing arts and crafts.”

This statement shows that the emailer doesn’t read the Senior Lifestyles section of this paper, published in the first issue of each month. The WSL regularly publishes a short account of our immediate past and future programs. We have nothing against “arts and crafts,” since we think it is beneficial for people of all ages to express their creativity, but we don’t sit around much. The programs we have had pertaining to the arts have been trips. We have visited the Akron and Cleveland art museums, a Richfield Senior Jazz performance, the quilt show at Lake Farmpark and the Warther Museum in Dover.

We regret that the emailer is so opposed to us without really knowing anything about us. We invite any senior in Bath to attend our meetings and learn what we are really about. We will be glad to answer your questions. We can be reached at Bathseniors@yahoo.com or 330-666-3189 or 330-666-3646.